


Homecoming

by ttacticianmagician



Series: Belated Dedue Week 2020 [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dedue Week (Fire Emblem), Fix-It, Gen, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Verdant Wind route spoilers, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:42:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22324267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ttacticianmagician/pseuds/ttacticianmagician
Summary: Dedue saves Dimitri's life at the Battle of Gronder Field with the help of unlikely allies.Written for Dedue Week 2020 Day 2: Battle
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Dedue Molinaro
Series: Belated Dedue Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1605457
Kudos: 14





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> Spoiler warning for Chapter 18 of Verdant Wind, if you haven't noticed it already.
> 
> Also I don't have a beta for this work because my usual beta reader has not reached this point in her VW playthrough. :P

The Battle for Gronder Field was nothing like the mock battle five years ago.

A thick, magically generated fog blanketed the plains. Soldiers hacked each other to bits. Pegasi and wyverns were shot down by a ballista on the hill. Demonic Beasts roared as they eviscerated foes like livestock.

And Dimitri was on the hunt. He screamed for Edelgard's head with every swing of his lance. He marched onwards, unfazed of the chaos unfolding around him. To him, the death and destruction was just a backdrop for his main mission. They were nothing to worry about, when his gauntlets were already stained with the blood of so many lives.

Other units under Dimitri's command would have been upset by the lack of care he displayed. But Dedue was not just a pawn to his commander. He was a stalwart ally, a loyal shield. He endured every cruel order, every clash of steel, all for His Highness. He did not question why he followed such a maniacal leader. He just did.

Dedue felt no remorse as he cut down another Alliance soldier. They were only obstacles to His Highness's goal. Annoying obstacles, led by both the master tactician of the Leicester Alliance and a familiar face that reappeared after a five years absence.

Byleth's presence among them made them more persistent, more irritating. She even managed to recruit some former Blue Lion members to her cause. Astride her was Ingrid on her pegasus, Sylvain on his steed, and Felix with his sword. The trio cut down their countrymen just as easily as Dedue struck down their allies. If Dedue wasn't supposed to stick near His Highness, he would have rushed to confront them and teach them a lesson about betraying their kingdom and Dimitri's trust.

A bolt of lightning pierced through Dedue's armor. He screamed. Over his screams, he heard Dimitri yelling at him to retreat. But he couldn't. Not when they were so close to Edelgard's position. He needed to be with him, in case his assault failed-

He opened his eyes. The din of battle had diminished quite a bit. Where was Dimitri?! He struggled to get up, but his charred armor was stuck in the mud. It took a lot of huffing and pulling to free himself.

A pair of pegasus wings fluttered overhead. Dedue spotted that white, angelic figure descending to his side. Mounted on the flying horse was Ingrid, Byleth, and a girl he couldn't recall the name of. Her pale hair and pink eyes were striking, however.

"Dedue? Are you well?" Byleth rushed over. She waved a glowing hand to heal his magically inflicted wounds.

"Prof… fessor?" He groaned. He managed to sit up with the help of Ingrid and Byleth. Although just because they aided him didn't mean that he had to act friendly towards them. They were still enemies of His Highness.

"Don't talk. We need you. Can you still fight?"

"Yes." He lied. His body ached like a Demonic Beast had trampled on him. But he had to get up still. Dimitri was out there, needing his shield.

"Good." Byleth beckoned the white haired girl over. "Dimitri is under attack by Imperial forces, but he is in no shape to fend them off. Lysithea is going to warp you over to him."

"What?!" The professor's words injected fire into his veins. "Where is he? Why are you helping me?"

"Because I don't want Dimitri to die!" Byleth yelled back. Her wide eyes and quaking voice hinted at a secret she wasn't saying. "And you're the only one who can save him."

Dedue still had much to ask of her. Like how she knew about Dimitri's fate, and why she thought only Dedue to save him from it. But if His Highness was about to fall, then he wasn't in the mood for anymore questions. 

"Send me to his side, then. Do it now."

"Before you go." Ingrid stepped forward. "Please, let His Highness know that we're always thinking about him, even if we chose a different path. We're all eagerly waiting for the day he comes home."

Dedue harrumphed. Pretty words for a traitor. Yet they still struck a chord in his heart. However, he wasn't offered much more time to dwell upon them, as a nauseatingly bright light enveloped him.

When he came to, a soldier's lance bounced off his chestplate. He swung his axe instinctively, slicing open his attacker. The girl had teleported Dedue to the outskirts of the battlefield. Ahead of him, the slowly shrinking flag of the Adrestian Empire waved in the distance. Behind him, the feral prince knelt on the ground, bewildered by the sudden appearance of his retainer. He was in no shape to fight, judging from his profusely bleeding cuts and a lance that skewered his calf. 

So Dedue did all the fighting for him. He retaliated against the many attacks relentlessly. His body ached all over, but Byleth's plea and Dimitri's sorry state forced him to keep going. The shocked Adrestian troops became fearful of this beast that wouldn't stop, wouldn't let his liege down. The remaining men eventually fled when they realized they couldn't win against him.

"Your Highness." Dedue panted. Even the act of kneeling beside him to check on his wounds burned his muscles. But he didn't let the pain show, not when Dimitri suffered through so much worse.

"Dedue…?" Dimitri stared up at him with his singular good eye. It had grown to the size of dinner plates while he watched the brutal spectacle.

"Your Highness." Dedue repeated. "We must leave now. More troops are surely on the way to finish the job."

"No!" Dimitri cried out. "Not until I have that woman's head! How dare you save me for the sake of such a cowardly tactic!"

"It is not cowardly. It's the only way you will live to fight another day."

Dimitri growled. He knew that His Highness still had objections. But Byleth had sent him here for a reason. She knew of his utter devotion to the prince, even though she wasn't their professor. She knew that he would do whatever it took to keep him alive.

Which included hoisting Dimitri into his arms and carrying him away bridal style. The wounded man howled and beat his gauntlets against Dedue's armor.

"Put me down! I can walk! That is an order!!"

"I must regretfully decline." Dedue muttered. Such a phrase went against every fiber of his being. But one impossible feat surely led to another.

Dimitri fortunately calmed down. Perhaps his injuries were finally taking their toll. Dedue only hoped that he could run fast enough to get away from this place.

"Where…. Where are you taking me?" Dimitri wheezed.

Ingrid's last words to Dedue sprang to mind. He did not know why he thought of them so suddenly. Maybe because they provided the right answer.

"Home, your Highness. Let's go home."

**Author's Note:**

> This one might be a little bland but it was the first thing I thought of for the prompt. I just want Dimitri to live damnit!


End file.
